Eloise
by Evangeline.Martin
Summary: A young woman seeks help with a problem.
1. Chapter 1

Eloise*

The man in the booth at the far end of the diner looked tired. He had faint circles under his eyes and looked generally scruffy, as if he had been working for days with no sleep. Eloise had seen other people with this look before but it seemed to make people more intimidating. Something about this strange man was oddly comforting. She liked the way he leaned over the table, writing feverishly into a thick black leather bound book. She stood by the door, watching him as he took his mug of coffee and sipped, still writing.

"Is there anything I can do for you hon?" A blonde waitress had walked over and was standing in front of Eloise. She wasn't old and she wasn't young. She had the ageless quality of a person who had seen more of life's hardships than she should have. Eloise knew this look well too. It was one she saw every morning on her face.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" The waitress repeated, not exactly impatiently but clearly not liking the loitering. Eloise looked back at the man.

"I'm meeting someone. He's just over there." Eloise waved her hand in the general direction of the man who, luckily, hadn't noticed her yet.

"You and about everyone else who comes in. Do you want anything?" Clearly the others who came to see the man were not good tippers. "Sure, I'll have a slice of apple pie with ice cream." Eloise knew what it was like to live on tips.

"Sure thing. I'll bring it right out." The waitress disappeared behind the counter and Eloise cautiously walked over to the booth at the end.

"I hear they serve a great pastrami sandwich," she said, repeating the words she had been taught. The man looked up from his writing and motioned for her to sit.

"You're right on time Eloise. Please, sit down." Putting his book on the seat next to him he gave her his undivided attention. She took a big breath and began.

"They tell me you can help me." Her hands were shaking and she quickly clasped them so he wouldn't notice. Before she could continue the waitress brought her pie and a fork. Eloise thanked her and picked up the fork, taking a bite of the warm pie.

When the waitress was out of earshot the man responded. "I can help you. What do you need?" His voice was calm, even, as if he dealt with semi-panicked people every day. The more she thought about it the more Eloise was convinced this was actually the case.

"I'm tired," she began, "I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. I live my life in a daze. I go to work and I sleep. I'm…alone. What I want is to be unable to feel the pain that fills my life."

"I assume you mean physical and emotional pain?" is all he says, not put off by her somewhat ridiculous request. Eloise nods, finding herself unsurprised by his question. He picks up the book, hiding it from her eyes, and leafs through it.

"If you want to be free from pain, emotional and physical, a man needs to fall in love with you." He closes the book firmly.

"A man needs to fall in love with me? But, how is that a task for me?" She asked, confused. When they told her about the man her friends had told her about the deal. You ask for something you want and the man tells you what you have to do to get it. This seemed different.

"That's the deal. For a man to fall in love with you I imagine you'd have to do something. Men in reality don't fall in love with women for nothing, not real love." Eloise went back to eating her pie, thinking. The man was watching her, seeing her reaction.

"Well," she said finally, "I'll do it. I'll get a man to love me. It isn't as if I don't want a man to love me. I just don't know how."

"The how is up to you. All I can promise is that if a man falls in love with you you won't feel pain again. All I ask of you is the details, the how you decide on."

"You want to know exactly how I go about seducing a man?" Eloise felt a little put out by this request. It was her business what she did with men, even if she wasn't outgoing or adventurous.

"That and why you want what you do. I want your story. I want to know what makes you who you are." His serious expression betrays no emotion, no indication of thoughts.

Eloise nodded. "I'll be back. There will be something to tell then." She stood up, leaving a ten dollar bill on the table. It is far more than the pie cost and she heard the waitress exclaim as she walked out the door.

"I don't know where to meet a man, not one who would love me. I've tried starting conversations in places I feel comfortable, like the library. They haven't led anywhere." She sighed. Two weeks had passed since her first meeting with the man. Now, once again, she sat in front of him, a hot cup of tea and a poppy seed muffin in front of her.

He took a sip of his coffee before jotting something in his book. "So, you've tried to meet a man, any man, but failed. You haven't found the how yet. Care to tell me about the why?" His pen was poised over the white page, ready to record her words, the tragic backstory that had made her who she was.

"When I was young, in high school, I got sick. It wasn't the kind of sick that people could understand. I was tired and in pain. Sometimes in class I would have such an intense shock of pain that I would shout. I was given detention more than once for 'causing a disturbance'.

"No one believed me. The doctors I saw told me there was nothing to worry about. 'You look fine,' they'd say, 'it's probably just growing pain.' I would sit in my room in the dark at night, praying I wouldn't die. It suddenly seemed more possible.

"Eventually I found a doctor who took me seriously. I was in college by this time. She did a blood test and found that I had an autoimmune disease, something rare but not fatal. I found out I had an incurable disease with very few treatments.

"When I got out of college I took the first job I could find that allowed sick time and had good insurance. Never mind that I hated it, I needed the health coverage. I never made any friends because of my disease. I never felt up to doing anything the other people my age wanted to do so I was never asked to join them.

"So that brings me up to today. I'm still in a job I hate. I'm still sick. I still carry emotional scars from being alone. I just want an end to the pain I've been experiencing for over eight years and can look forward to experiencing for the rest of my life."

She felt relieved after telling him this. It was something she hadn't completely told anyone, not that she'd had anyone to tell. Eloise looked up from her hands. The man's face hadn't changed.

"Do you think that the pain leaving will make you happy? Will it really change anything?" His question seemed more like a writing prompt than the answer to her life story.

"I don't know. I have thought about it. If the pain is gone I figure there could be two outcomes." This wasn't a theory she ever wanted to share with anyone. Often she thought about what she would tell a friend, if she had one. Something about the man made her want to tell him her deepest secrets.

"Oh?" was the only further prompting he supplied. Eloise was a little disappointed. If she was going to spill her soul the least he could do was feign interest.

"Well," she continued, "I could either be happy, free to do what I couldn't because of pain, or there would be a void, some kind of nothingness where the pain was. The possibility of this scared, scares, me but I decided it's worth the risk. Even nothingness without pain seems better than now."

*The concept of these segments was derived from _The Booth at the End_, a short internet series. I figure I've written just about everything else on here I might as well include some fan fiction. So, hopefully this was enjoyable (at least as much so as it could be). More to come!


	2. Chapter 2

"You look tired," the man said as she sat down. It was dark outside the diner's windows, the night illuminated by neon lights and headlights. It was true, Eloise did look tired. Her eyes were heavily framed by dark circles and her skin was almost completely devoid of color.

"I know it," she said, sitting down in the booth. The waitress, Doris, came over when she saw her. "Hey, Eloise. What can I get for you tonight?"

"Just a coffee Doris." Even her voice sounded weary.

"Sure thing honey. That'll be right up." She walked back to the kitchen.

"So, what do you have to tell me today?" the man asked, pulling out his book and licking the tip of his pen.

"I think I found a man," she said, smiling a smile that reached her eyes but made her appear even more tired.

"Oh? Tell me about him." His pen rested on the page, waiting for her words.

"Well, a few weeks ago my symptoms got worse. I collapsed at the grocery store from pain in my legs and some stranger called an ambulance. When I got to the hospital they put me on a morphine solution and, going in and out of an extremely drugged up state I saw him."

"He was at the hospital?" the man asked, looking up from his book.

"He was my doctor, one of them at least. It must've been three o'clock in the morning by then but I wasn't really in any condition to check. He came in to see if the morphine was working. Usually the doctors don't really check stuff like that. He was so kind and gentle, making sure I was okay, explaining what they'd found."

"What did they find?" This time he didn't look up.

"I have elevated levels of something but he said it shouldn't have been causing problems. I'm also anemic which shouldn't have caused my problems either."

"Does this mysterious doctor have a name?" The page he's been writing on is full of words.

"His name is Declan. It might have just been the morphine but there was something about him I just felt connected to. I'm going back to meet with him about my latest test results tomorrow." Her smile turned somewhat dreamy.

"Do you know what you're going to do next?" he asked her, closing the book. "Have you thought about how you're going to make him fall in love with you?"

"I guess I haven't. I figure I'll do what feel right. If he's the right one shouldn't he love me for who I am?" Her eyes searched for something in his but they were unreadable.

"I don't know," he responded, "You'll just have to wait and see."


	3. Chapter 3

"I think something is starting to happen," Eloise looked even more exhausted but her pale face was brightened by a smile. Her eyes, now heavily ringed in black, were shining. "I think he might be falling in love with me."

"Really, tell me what happened." The man opened his book as Doris delivered a piece of cherry pie to Eloise. When she was gone Eloise continued.

"Well I went in for my appointment and he told me he had some good news and some bad news. The bad news was that they had no idea what was going on. I am still undiagnosed." Her face darkened for a moment.

"What was the good news?" The man watched as she picked up a forkful of cherries and put it into her mouth.

"The good news," Eloise said, blushing. The pink in her cheeks made her gaunt face look as beautiful as it had the first day he saw her. "The good news was that he knew how to cheer me up. He said he had the night off and he was going to show me a good time."

"And what did he think a good time was?"

"He took me to a romantic comedy and bought me dinner. Afterwards we went by the pier and he taught be how to play skee-ball. It was quiet and relaxing and he really made me feel, I don't know, special I guess. We've gone out two times since then."

"So you're beginning to have feelings for this Doctor Declan? Have you noticed any other changes in your life lately?" His eyes expressed more than usual, searching her face for a reaction.

"Now you mention it I have been noticing that my pain is significantly less. I don't know if it's going away exactly. I think I just notice it less."

"So your wish is starting to come true."

"Yeah, does this mean I'm on the right track? Did you know this would happen?" She finished her pie, licking the last bit of cherry off the fork.

"All I know is that if he falls in love with you then you will be free from pain. Even if he doesn't fall in love with you it is still possible you will get your wish. All I offer is one sure way." He closed his book.

"That makes sense I guess. It must be like those choose your own adventure books. You can read through one ending and know where the decisions will take you but you don't know if different decisions will bring you to the same ending." She looked at her fork pensively.

"I suppose you could say that. No one has really ever bothered to figure out what it was like before. Sometimes I wonder if people just smile and nod when I tell them things. They so rarely remember."

"Well I'll remember. And if this isn't a trick to get me to sell my soul or something no matter what I will find a way to thank you." He could tell she meant it.


	4. Chapter 4

The next time she came the sky was overcast and rain pelted the windows. She was drenched, shivering, as she walked to the booth at the end. Doris looked up from the register when Eloise entered.

"Eloise! Why, you're soaked to the bone! I'm going to get you some coffee to warm you up." The frequent visits and Eloise's generosity had made them fast friends and Doris took every opportunity to look out for Eloise as Eloise did for her. She had found non-fluorescent bulbs for the lights after reading they were bad for people with Eloise's condition and had taken to keeping the diner warmer than usual because she noticed Eloise shivering. Now she rushed off to find a towel and some warm coffee.

Eloise sat down at the table across from the man, smiling happily. She didn't seem to see the diner around her, only the man in front of her. When Doris brought her coffee, a piece of French silk pie, and a towel she noticed Eloise's eyes were shining.

"Thank you Doris," Eloise said, jolting back to reality. Doris smiled and Eloise noticed a strange look cross her face as she looked briefly at the man before walking away.

"She likes you, you know," she said matter-of-factly, looking at him across the table again. "You should ask her out. I know she'd appreciate it. She won't say anything but I can tell she's lonely. I used to be lonely; I know what that looks like."

The man didn't say anything but did sneak a look at the pretty waitress before focusing again on Eloise. "So, you seem…happy today. I take it something happened?"

Taking the towel Eloise dried her hair before speaking. Her face, although still sickly looking, was glowing and even her damp hair didn't prevent her from looking beautiful. "Things have gotten quite serious with Declan. We have regular dates now. I don't know if he loves me yet but I know I love him. Isn't that half of it? I mean, I know there is unrequited love but if I've fallen in love with him and he clearly likes me a bit won't he love me eventually?"

Her face, a shining beacon of hope, made it difficult for him to fashion an answer. "I don't know," he said, "I suppose." She caught him looking at Doris this time and her face was illuminated by a perfect smile.

"Anyway, I love him and I've noticed something." She waited for him to say something. He looked up from his book at her silence.

"Oh? What have you noticed?"

"Half of my pain is gone, the emotional part. Since we started dating my loneliness has disappeared. It's wonderful."

"Well I would say that is half the battle at least. If you've noticed a change like that you're probably getting close." The man gives her a rare smile.

"That's what I thought," Eloise said, the picture of a woman in love, "That's what I thought too."

A few weeks later Doris came to work in tears. The man watched her work, eyes red, tears streaming down her face. He didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do to make her smile again.

He watched her and didn't notice the tall man, handsome and well dressed, sit down across from him. His dark blue eyes were sad. The squeak of the vinyl seat alerted the man to his arrival.

"Are you looking for something?" he asked, not quite rudely but not welcomingly either.

"I'm looking for you. I'm Declan," he said, as if just his name would alert anyone to his purpose.

"Declan," the man said, voice indicating that he was thinking about the meaning of this.

"I have a message for you. I have a message from Eloise." His voice broke at the mention of her name. The man looked up at this, confused.

"Why? Has something happened?" Concern is evident in his voice, something Eloise would have smiled at.

Before he could answer Doris walked over to the table. "Can I get you anything?" she asked as helpfully as possible. Sadness still seeps through and Declan looks up.

"I'll have a coffee and a slice of pie, whatever you think is good. You're Doris, right?" His voice mirrors her sadness but an element of concern for her mental state is there as well.

"I am, how did you…?" Doris seemed shocked but looking at him, taking in his face and the sadness in his eyes, she knew, "You're Declan, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'd like to thank you for looking out for Eloise. She was grateful as well." Tears welled in Doris's eyes again and she left to get the pie and coffee.

"What do you mean she was grateful?" The man asked. The concern was deepening, edged with something like panic. Although he outwardly didn't seem to care each person he helped was special to him. He wanted them to have what they wanted and it caused him pain when he had to give them tasks they struggled with.

"Eloise is…she's dead." It is clearly a difficult thing for him to say, to admit. "Four nights ago when we were at a movie she collapsed. I rushed her to the hospital but she fell into a coma. She stayed like that for two days. I did everything I could to help her, to get her to wake up. Finally one night, after I had sat by her bed for forty-eight hours, she woke up." He spoke slowly as if he couldn't believe it was the truth, as if he was repeated a story someone had told him that was too farfetched to be real.

"When she woke up I was so grateful. I thanked God and I told her I loved her. I told her I couldn't stand the thought of losing her, that she meant everything to me. We'd only been dating a little while, mere months, but I knew she was the one.

"I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe I thought this would make her stand up and kiss me, wrap her arms around me and tell me she felt the same way. Maybe I thought it would magically make her better. Whatever it did it didn't do that.

"She smiled at me when I told her. Her eyes seemed dreamy, far away. 'Declan, I love you too" she told me, 'Promise me you'll do something for me when I'm gone?' I couldn't believe it. 'What do you mean, when you're gone El? You're not going anywhere!'

"'Promise me,' she insisted, so I did. She told me what to do but I didn't know what to make of it. She seemed delirious. I assured her I would and the next thing I knew she was dead.

"We still haven't figured out what killed her, exactly. I ran an obituary in the paper this morning, something so someone else would know about her death. As soon as I could I came to do what she said. I had promised I would, even if it didn't make sense. I had to try."

"What did she want you to do?" The man asked. He tried to hide the emotion in his voice but didn't succeed entirely.

"She gave me an address. 'Go to this address, tell the man in the booth at the end something for me.'" Declan paused and seemed unable to continue.

"What did she say?" The man cried, voice a little louder than he intended."

"'Tell him thank you. Tell him the pain is gone.'"


End file.
